Although the US-Iran talks were not held as anticipated on Monday, Pakistan and relevant countries remain optimistic, because US President Donald Trump has claimed that no major impediment now remains in the agreement and only concluding phases are left to be completed.]
However, he also maintains the position that until the complete agreement is 100 percent finalized, the US naval blockade will remain in place and the pressure policy will continue. In contrast, Iranian officials have completely rejected the American narrative and made it clear that enriched uranium stockpiles will not be transferred anywhere under any circumstances, as is being portrayed by Washington.
An important dimension of Pakistan’s diplomatic endeavors to end the Iran war through mediation is that leaders of countries who had not been willing to see each other for 47 years came to Islamabad and held 21-hour-long talks. For the negotiations, the Iranian leadership arrived in Pakistan, whose close relatives had also been martyred. It is also necessary to mention here that US President Donald Trump has also given indications; however, along with the US, Iran also wants to get its conditions accepted, because this time is of key importance for getting conditions accepted.
On the other hand, Pakistan’s Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir, who had taken along both military and conventional diplomacy powers from here, has completed a three-day long visit. During this visit to Iran, he adopted a multi-layered diplomacy approach and held individual meetings with important figures of Iran’s political and military leadership. These meetings further melted the ice between Iran and the US, and the possibility of moving towards dialogue and a lasting ceasefire once again appears to be emerging.
It is evident that this afternoon Iran opened its airports and flights, which indicates that there is no plan of bombing Iran by the US or Israel, and the Iranian leadership may have already been assured of this.
Some analysts hope that as a result of negotiations between Iran and the US, sanctions imposed on Iran may start to be lifted, and if the process of lifting sanctions begins, then trade activities in the entire region will accelerate.
In a statement issued today, US President Donald Trump said that a very intelligent and capable person is going to come to the White House, and if one looks at the depth and scope of diplomatic efforts regarding the Iran-US war, the writer’s attention goes towards Field Marshal Asim Munir, because the way he took military and political diplomacy between the US and Iran to a level where he remained in continuous contact with Donald Trump and Iranian leadership, that strategy will not only be written in golden letters in future but will also become part of textbooks.
This is because the war between Iran and the US was not only a war of shells and missiles, but also a rhetorical war that was seen at every moment igniting the flames of conflict. But since Pakistan’s mediation under the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the Field Marshal came forward, threats from both sides stopped, and the noise of bombs and missiles also reduced, resulting in a ceasefire that ended the blood-soaked days and nights in Iran. Earlier, when Donald Trump spoke about ending Iranian civilization, the whole world held its breath, because the US is the world’s largest military and nuclear power, which is why the world became gripped with fear. That situation ended because Field Marshal Asim Munir played a full role and, despite holding such a high position, went to a war-torn country to deliver a message of peace so that this diplomacy could conclude at a point that would take the world out of fear of war towards peace. History bears witness that so far only three generals in the world have brought peace during war, due to which the Nobel Committee awarded them the Nobel Prize.
During ongoing diplomatic efforts for ceasefire talks, the Strait of Hormuz has once again become the focal point of global attention. In the recent situation, Iran had announced the closure of this important waterway, which is considered the backbone of global energy supply. It was later opened with certain conditions, however news of its re-closure surfaced within a few hours, and Iran announced that it would keep it closed again until the US blockade on ports is lifted. In this context, Iran has also indicated that in the future, instead of traditional transit fees for ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, legislation is being prepared to implement a “comprehensive system of the strait” and create a framework.
This situation is no longer confined to Iran and the US alone; other countries in the region and global powers are also being directly affected. France and the United Kingdom have announced leading a multinational effort to ensure maritime security in the Strait of Hormuz, which will begin once conditions become favorable, while Saudi Arabia has described the situation as still unstable and said that the restoration of oil production and supply will be possible at different speeds in different countries.
On the other hand, the ongoing tension between Lebanon and Israel also does not show complete silence despite temporary pauses. Although signals of ceasefire have been given at some level, the Israeli leadership says that full completion of operations against Hezbollah is still pending. Similarly, despite attacks in Lebanon, reports of casualties have further highlighted the ongoing uncertainty in the region.
The overall situation currently stands at a delicate turning point. On one side is the negotiation process which is in its final stages, and on the other side are ground realities that indicate continuous pressure and tension. The situation in the Strait of Hormuz, instability in energy markets, and military statements are all signs that peace in the region is not as far as it appeared at the beginning of the war, however a complex path still awaits.
Yet within this complexity, there is also hope that the parties are showing flexibility, due to which negotiations and back-channel diplomacy are proving to be not just a pause but the beginning of a new diplomatic chapter, which can potentially give a new direction not only to the region but also to global political balance, because the international community is well aware that the effects and consequences of this war could push the world into an economic pressure even more severe than the Great Depression of 1929, which severely affected trade, employment, and financial systems worldwide.
